Towards Nationwide Image Availability in Dutch Healthcare

To enable this step towards national image availability, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Netherlands has taken the initiative to develop the NEN7541. This standard is intended to serve as a national standard for exchanging medical images and is therefore an essential building block in the national approach. The development takes place in close collaboration with the field, but under clear guidance from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

In anticipation of the introduction of the standard, the Digital Transition Body (DTO) – commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport – has asked VZVZ and Zorgverzekeraars Nederland to collaborate with Founda Health, Alphatron Zorgverbinders and Enovation to demonstrate in a “proof of concepts” (PoC) that their systems can work together on the basis of a technical agreement NTA v1.1 previously drawn up under the supervision of the Taskforce Samen Vooruit. This agreement is based on internationally recognised and proven standards. The PoC focuses on the safe and reliable exchange of radiological images and reports between healthcare institutions that use XDS or TLB-based solutions. If the PoC is successful, this solution will be scaled up nationwide and used as a temporary solution for nationwide image availability.

Healthcare institutions retain the freedom to choose which solution and supplier they want to work with, both for making their own imaging studies available and for viewing those of other institutions.

Parallel to this development, research is being conducted under the direction of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport into how a sustainable, nationwide infrastructure can be realised in the long term that complies with both national and European legislation and regulations.

Founda Health is very pleased with this initiative of the Dutch ministry of Health to foster an open market where companies work together on the basis of open, internationally accepted interoperability standards. The outcome of the proof of concept will be of great importance for Dutch hospitals that make use of the National XDSCloud service as they will gain the ability to exchange data with hospitals that make use of similar offering from a different vendor.